Gutsy Claire Melia performance not enough for Baxi Ferrol in EuroCup final

Around 30 Irish fans joined the Baxi Ferrol travelling support in the away end and they were in full song over an hour before the game got under way. A win alone wouldn’t be enough for Melia’s side. They knew they had to win by at least 4 points on the night to overcome the first leg deficit.

The nerves got to Baxi Ferrol early and this enabled the hosts to race into an early 7-0 lead. Melia assisted on a three pointer for Mo Joiner to get Ferrol off the mark but Villeneuve d’Ascq kept on coming. Lino Lopez, the Ferrol coach, had no choice but to call a timeout with his troops trailing 13-3.

A pair of three pointers out of the timeout from Bianca Millan and Mo Joiner gave Baxi Ferrol cause for hope. A drive along the baseline for a lay-up opened Melia’s account on the scoreboard to cut the gap to fivepoints. The Monasterevin woman then assisted on two scores by Julie Pospisilova but Baxi Ferrol were struggling to keep pace with their opponents. At the end of the first quarter, Villeneuve d’Ascq led 23-18.

Melia sat to start the second quarter. Things didn’t go well for her side while she rested and Lopez was forced to call another timeout with his side trailing by nine points on the night. The Monasterevin woman was right back on the floor out of the timeout. There was little that could be done however about the shift in momentum.

French international Carla Leite pushed the gap out to double digits once more. The hosts were simply more efficient in every area. At the half, it looked a tall order for Baxi Ferrol as Villeneuve d’Ascq led 42-30.

Things went from bad to worse for Baxi Ferrol to start the third quarter. A three from Haley Peters followed by an and-one play by Leite extended the Villeneuve d’Ascq lead to 18 on the night. Shavonte Zellous then poured on the pain with a three. Melia was able to respond from inside but her side was swimming against the tide. With 10 minutes to play, Villeneuve d’Ascq led 66-50.

The hosts kept on coasting through the final quarter and never looked in danger. Villeneuve d’Ascq deservedly took victory and the Eurocup Women title.

Still, Baxi Ferrol and Claire Melia can come out of this competition with pride. Neither was expected to make much of an impact on the competition at the start of the season. Yet the club, from a small city in Galicia, and the Ireland international made history with their Cinderella run. The defeat will sting for the night but the memories of this extraordinary run will last a lifetime.